Lone survivor 2

After reading up to page 88 in the book Lone Survivor I have realized that the main character Marcus Luttrell is a very experienced fighter with the Navy SEALs.  Since he was a young boy he was working on the ranch and his dad taught him various skills, such as long range aim, swimming, underwater combat, combat, strength and other things.  Also Marcus and his brother Morgan went to this guy that trains people with brutal styles.  He had the group of guys run down the side of a highway with blocks attached to feet.  It was said that because of this Special Forces guy training Marcus and his brother Morgan and their dad training them that they were the best of the best, the cream of the pack, you could say they were the brightest bulb in the bunch.  Also because of their dad training it was said that Marcus could hit a flying can half mile away.  At this point in the book Marcus and his team have landed just outside Afghanistan and are preparing for another flight to another base for warfare and they are trying to gain Intel on the whereabouts of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters/ terrorists.

Lone survivor one

After reading up to page number fifty three in the book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell I feel that this book is very interesting.  So far Marcus has to me about where he is located, Middle East, Precisely Afghanistan to be exact, what he is doing there, fighting the Middle Eastern, trying to gain Intel of the whereabouts Taliban fighters and al-Qaeda which by the way means the base. Also he has told me his listing in the army, a U.S. Navy SEAL and what his home life has been like.  Marcus grew up in the dry southern state of Texas living with his parents David and Holly Luttrell and along with his twin brother Morgan Luttrell.  Marcus was always called the baby of the family but he didn’t get why because his twin Morgan was only seven minutes older than he was.  Marcus and his family grew up on a ranch and his dad taught him some very valued survival skills, while his mom was raising horses to be the finest they could be.  She could take a horse that is sick or old and run down and turn it into a prime race or work horse.  People would say that they thought she was a horse whisperer or something.  The Luttrell family business had its ups and downs but had it peak in around the period of the oil peak, 1973-1985.  Marcus was the first of the sons to join the seals but Morgan still calls him the baby.  At this point in the book Marcus and his SEAL (sea air and land) Recon team was in a C-130 cargo plane heading towards Afghanistan, neutral airspace.  Marcus always felt sick flying over the hostile territory of hiding spots for Taliban and al-Qaeda, even though he was 9 miles above them he still felt sick to his stomach. At the point I am at the recon team just got into neutral airspace and are about to land at the military base.

The road

After I have read about 20 pages into the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy I feel that this book has a very dark, gloomy, distraught type of mood.  This is due to the words like ratty and desolate that are used throughout the book.  Also I feel the father wants to do everything that he can to protect his young son who has his whole life ahead of him.  I could say that I like and dislike the book for many or several reasons.  The reasons I like the book is because it has a sense of adventure, in the two people travelling to try and reach exile from this post apocalyptic world. Also, I feel it has I sense of suspense in the fact that you never know what could happen next and the father is carry around a pistol for defense.  Someone could come out of nowhere and attack them for their goods.  The reasons I don’t like this book is because it is very kind of dark and gloomy and it progresses very slowly or not at all.  I feel it gets repeated a lot what’s going on because the father and son and in an apocalyptic world and are scared and don’t know what to do. 

Thanksgivng football

Sunday November 30^th, it was the last day of thanksgiving break which by the way was a great relief from school and getting up early.  On this day at I don’t know around seven pm I was bored so I decided to watch the Vikings game.  I found out that they were playing the Chicago Bears, a rival NFC north division team.  This game was a very big game for the Vikings because the Bears and Vikings were tied for first place in the HFC north.  Whoever won this game would take the reigns as the outright leader of the NFC north division. The game started out very slow and then began to progress and the second quarter rolled around.  The Vikings defensive back got a penalty for a blow to the end after the play which resulted in the bears moving down to the ¾ yd line of the viks.  At this time the score 7 to 3 bears leading.  But the Vikings got a goal line stand and then on the very next play the Vikings starting quarterback connected with the receiver Bernard Berrian, who is an X Bear, and they tied the record for longest play from scrimmage.  This play, goal line stand and touchdown, sparked a fuse in the Vikings and brought us the a victory 34-17, and it was a big one. 

Thoughts on the Odyssey after reading

After finishing the Odyssey I feel that the book is very complex and entertaining.  Throughout the novel Odysseus battles with many gods, mainly Poseidon because he is seeking revenge for blinding of the Cyclops, in the challenge to get back home.  Odysseus is trying to reach Ithaca, his home town, after the battle of Troy. As Odysseus lands on many islands and countries he tells his story so far to the leader of that land. I think that the Odyssey provides a good example of the struggle of mortal men with the immortals or gods.  If you displease one of these gods your life will be a living hell even if the displeasure is just a minor cause.  I think the end of this novel was exciting and good.  As Odysseus reached his home after many many years of being lost and seeking Penelope he found to be in front of many suitors.  These suitors were trying to take over or “woo” Penelope to be their wife.  The palace men and suitors fought in a battle that was ended by Zeus and Athena, they put a stop to all the ruckus and devastation.  At the end of all this Zeus decided to give peace over Ithaca and help Odysseus after all the trouble he went through trying to get home.  

Thoughts of Odyssey so far

After reading thus far in the Odyssey by Homer I think that the book and the story itself are actually quite interesting.  In the book, I like how the author wrote it in somewhat of a play/ poem format because it makes it easier to read and understand.  As you read throughout the book you can tell that many things are repeated and I think that it helps a lot especially with those difficult passages.  The repetition helps you get the jist of the book and what the author is trying to say.  I like how Homer uses a lot of detail and similes and other stuff to show support for the ideas.  I think the book is good because it shows the struggles that the various characters have throughout the story. For example Odysseus trying to get home and Poseidon making it extremely hard for him. Also, Penelope and Telemachus with the suitors in their palace trying to woo Penelope and win her over, Telemachus finally mans up and tells it to the suitors mainly Antinous.  So I think so far the book is interesting and written so you can understand it and all of the main ideas and struggles. 

The Strangers

Over the weekend I watched and did many things.  Of these I chose to blog on the movie called strangers.  I don’t know why but I just seem to not get scared.  I don’t get why the people characterized Strangers as a horror because I would call it a comedy.  In this film two people are at a house in the middle of nowhere, literally the house in surrounded by a forest.  This is because the guy was going to marry the girl but she didn’t respond to his proposal.  When the mood was just getting good someone knocked on their door.  She asked if Tamara was home.  Then later she came back again and asked the same question.  When the guy went out to get cigarettes three people came and started scaring the girl enormously.  She tried calling people but the phones didn’t work and her cell phone was dead.  When she turned to go in the kitchen this guy that looked like a baseball was in the back of the screen.  He threw her phone in the fire and then left. At this point the guy returned and then the three people started attacking them and tried to kill them, because they were home.  The guy was sitting in a room and his friend showed up but then he got shot because the guy thought it was one of the people and the story continues until they all die.

Edina and Southwest

On Tuesday October 21^st that Edina Hornets had a playoff game.  The game was located at Kuhlman field, Edina’s home field.  The game was the section 6AA playoff semifinals.  Our opponent was Southwest, I decent team but I was expecting a blowout.  The game started at seven p.m. and it was very cold. We got the first kickoff and we returned it for about 20 yards, up to around the 30 yard line.  On the first play Colin Moynihan rushed for a good hard 7 yards.  On the next play Anders Lee passed for 32 yards to Joe Herring.  With 11:24 left in the first quarter Anders Lee Rushed 31 yards for a Hornet touchdown. We were leading 7-0 after a John Eppel extra point.  Throughout the first half we had Southwest every way we wanted them.  We could pass or run, our line was blocking and defense and offense was executing exceptionally.  As time had run out in the half Edina was leading Southwest thirty five to six.  At the beginning of the second half, the Hornets kicked off because we got the ball to start the game.  As Eppel kicked the ball it went into the end zone for a touchback and Southwest started on their on twenty yard line. Three plays into the opening drive of the second half Southwest fumbled and the Hornets recovered.  From the seven yard line Steven Asp rushed on an end around for a seven yard score, it was now 42 to 6. I left the game because as I expected it was a blowout.

Quarantine

Over the weekend I viewed many articles of literature and did many things, but probably the most fun one was on Friday night.  A group of around 25 people and I went to a movie at southdale, on its premier night.  The movie was called Quarantine it was intended to be a horror movie but for me and two other people it was a comedy.  Those people were Ruben and Mike; we were laughing pretty much the whole movie.

The movie is about these people the get rabies from this sick dog and the fire department and police get called to this apartment building with this reporter and her camera guy. It was just supposed to be an inspection call and they people got locked down in the building and they weren’t getting let out alive. The rabies started with this old lady who was screaming and biting people. That’s how it started getting spread, that sweet little old lady got it and turned into a man eating beast.  During the course of the movie Mike Ruben and I were laughing and all the girls kept hitting us because they were screaming a getting scared like no other. It ended up not even being scary but more of a funny movie. If you like horror/ comedies I recommend Quarantine.

The unexpected playoff

On Sunday night the twins and the Chicago white sox and I extra game to decide the winner of the American league central division. It was an away game for the twins because the sox had won the coin flip. This was a bad thin because the twins were 8 and 1 against the sox at home and 1 and 8 away. So this game was definitely in the sox favor, at least the stats showed so. The pitchers for this “playoff” game were Nick Blackburn for the twins and Gavin Floyd for the Sox. We all had thought that this game was going to be one which was decided at the plate. It was projected to be around an 8 to 9 game or something around there. It all happened so that it was the exact opposite; it turned out to be a pitchers duel. As Nick Blackburn took a zero to zero tie deep into the game he was getting worn out. It was the eighth inning and the batter was Jim Thome, one of the most deadly sox hitters in the history. As Blackburn delivered the pitch I thought ohh no. Nick left a breaking ball up and oh did Thome’s eyes get huge. He swung at the pitch and boy was it a blast, almost all the way out of the stadium. That one mistake by Blackburn cost the twins the game, the season and a playoff birth. The final score of the game was 1 to 0 white sox, all thanks to Jim Thome

Monday Night Football

On Monday night the viks played my favorite player’s team, the saints. Throughout the course of this game it was a battle and an amazing one at the. Reggie Bush had 2 punt returns for a touchdown and should have had three but it was called back. He also had about 300 all-purpose yards. The game stayed close up until the end of the second when the saints started to pull away with the 2 Bush punt returns. At half time the saints were ahead, but out of the locker room the viks came firing. In the third quarter the Vikings came out passing and they succeeded at it. Gus Ferotte the Vikings starting quarterback threw one long bomb to Bernard Berrian for a touchdown, this pulling the viks within 6 points of the saints. On the next Vikings possession Ferotte lead the Viks down the field for a field goal and another on the next possession. So, with about a minute and a half left in the forth quarter the viks had a chance to win. With good field position Ferotte started the viks off good with a completion of about 20. On the next play he went for the bomb to Berrian and a flag was thrown. It was for defensive pass interference. The Vikings had the ball at the Saints 20 with about 30 seconds left. They brought out Ryan Longwell for a 47 yarder to try and win the game. He made it and the Viks won in a thrilling fashion.

Bears VS Bucs

On Sunday afternoon, I was very bored so I decided to watch some TV. As I was flipping through the channels I saw that there was a Chicago Bears game on. The game was between the bears and the Buccaneers, at the Bears stadium. I chose to watch it because it was a very close game. As the game rolled on the Bears started pulling away and with about 1:30 left in regulation play the game started to get a little dicey. The score was 24 to 14 Bears leading. I was thinking to myself “Can the Bucs pull off this upset.” The clock was ticking down and as Brian Griese, Bears X QB, was leading the Bucs down the field I was thinking that they could actually do this. And Griese made me believe it more and more, He led the Bucs to their first score which happened to be a field goal. With about 45 seconds remaining the Bucs were desperate so they attempted an onside kick and it worked. In about 5 seconds the game had changed dramatically, and Griese was back on the field with his high powered offense, but without Joey Galloway it seemed nearly impossible to get a touchdown in 40 seconds. As the last few second were played the Bucs and Brian Griese ended up scoring with 5 seconds left to tie things up. Because the teams were all square after regulation play, they had one 15 minute overtime session to decide things. The Bucs had won the toss and they chose to receive. On that very drive Griese led the Bucs down the field to get a field goal and win 27-24 over the Bears in an amazing overtime stunner. 

Rambo

    Over the weekend i watched many things but probably the most interesting one was the movie Rambo. This movie stars the well known actor from the rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone. 

    The movie takes place just south of the suffering country of Burma. the main character John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has an operating long boat and a group of Christian missionaries want to go into Burma to help those who are suffering. They ask Rambo if he would take them and reluctantly he agrees to, but as you might not know Burma is a war-torn country. The Christian missionaries experience what true war is through going into Burma and Rambo had warned them that if you mess with the rebels you will regret it, and oh would these missionaries regret it. Threw the course of traveling up river Rambo and the missionaries encounter some rebels and almost get killed for trying to pass through their territory but Rambo saves them. Once John Drops off the Christian missionaries he returns to northern Thailand and about 10 days later he hears that the missionaries had not returned to the church. Rambo goes back to Burma with highly skilled mercenaries and goes on search and rescue for these missionaries. He would rescue them at all costs and threw a grueling battle he did so. 

A journey i intend to take

One journey that i would like to take in my life is to go backpacking in new zealand and austrailia. this is because there are many sites to see there and a lot of unexplored and unmarked territory. Along with that austrailia has a lot of wild and untamed animals and it would be fun to interact with them. In new zealand there are mountanous terrain and green rolling hills. The main reason is because my great grandpa participated in the olympics in new zealand and austrailia and i have never been there. I think backpacking will be a challenging, interseting and fun journey.

Blog expectations

My name is josh. this is my super cool blog, which i will personalize and make my own (but not post pics of myself on or use my last name on). I will always use appropriate language on my school blog and follow the conventions of the english language. The expectation for this assignment is that i post on my blog oncwe a week for the remainder of the school year. I am expected to comment on texts that i am viewing in the world around me. These might include, but are not limited to: books, magazines, movies, internet articles, television shows, trips to museums etc.
Each post should be at least 200 words. each weekly post is due by 8am on that wednesday. Therefore Q1 due dates are: 9/17 9/24 10/1 10/8 10/15 10/22 and 10/29. that makes a total of 7 posts this first quarter. i understand that blogs are worth 100 points per quarter and are graded holistically ( i will recieve the rubric from mrs. B soon). I also understand that blogging is a significant component of my first quarter grade. By the way, what i have just tpedis only 196 words! now it is 200!